RayNAustin wrote:^^ Hogster ... Exactly. And he comes back into the game in pain and hobbling on one leg and still makes a couple of critical 1st downs before the pain overtakes him and he can't continue. What a gutty, old school soul inside that young man's body! You just can't help but be inspired by this kid, and he's brought the Redskins back to legitimacy again, both in the eyes of outsiders and the Redskins players, coaches and fans too.

As to make the understatement of the year, I've been very critical of Kyle and Mike Shanahan, and I believe those criticisms were legit ... but I'm just as ready to offer compliments when they are due, and I've seen a sort of metamorphosis take place since the buy week, and particularly offensive play calling, which has changed from being too predictable to being cleverly unpredictable. and that's what is giving defenses fits.

Additionally, we're seeing some real production out of these other rookies not named RG3 too ... Crawford's return setting up the game winning kick .... Morris ... and Captain Kirk!!! So, credit must go to the coaches and player evaluation ... we're winning these games with much of the credit going to great play from the youngsters, including Forbath Mr. 14-0 ... and that's very encouraging for the future.

And finally, let's not just beat up the defense and Haz .... much of the credit for the last two wins goes to the defense who seem to start out pretty slow and rocky but have played very strong in the second half of these games. I think Haz has taken a really bad situation which looked to be totally falling apart, and circled the wagons and rallied the troops to really step up when the chips were down. Hat's should be tipped to Jim for keeping these guys fighting through adversity and sticking together.

This team has a completely new mindset than it had 5 weeks ago ... these guys, with their several flaws, now believe they can beat anyone, and a good portion of the credit for that must go to the coaches.

Finally... I get to read a Ray post, and say...
THIS!!!

You don't have to be a homer to appreciate RG3's effort in this game. "Old school" is on the money.

RG3 is a tuff guy, but he's become a target even of ilegal hits, like the helmet to helmet not called yesterday. He needs to learn to protect himself.
From all the acquisitions the team has made this year, there are obvious guys contributing immensely, some of them expected, but KAI has been humongous coming out of nowhere, without any experience to hit 14 straight, even game winners in OT, hats off!
HaiL,

1) Shanahan has been rebuilding a decimated roster, trying to turn around one of the most consistently mediocre teams in the league and we're finally seeing some results.

or

2) Shanahan suddenly changed his coaching style, tactics, philosophy, figured out how to coach effectively and we've started winning as a result.

#1

But the biggest reason for this resurgence since the bye is RGIII. He gave a speech at a players only meeting during the bye that fired everyone up and made them believe. They immediately voted him a captain. From that point, everything changed.

RayNAustin wrote:Now, just how many here actually believed 5 weeks ago that the Redskins would beat the Eagles, Cowboys, Giants and Ravens in a 4 game sweep?

I did.

Not I! That 4 game sweep would be an accomplishment for almost ANY team in the league, much less a 3-6 team coming off a loss to the Panthers. (Who just dismantled the Falcons yesterday, so maybe that loss wasn't as shocking as we all thought.)

I don't think the issue is who believed we could win though. I think the issue is who believed we have been on the right path of building this year. There are a lot of us here who think Shanahan has been doing a good job rebuilding the past two years in particular and changing the culture of the team.

Sorry, but as much as I love RGIII, I just don't believe a 3-6 team goes on a four game winning streak because he made a great speech. He's an amazing player and a leader. We're seeing a team come together right now, and we have reasons to be optimistic for the future.

There are a number of reasons for the success and I agree that it had nothing to do with anything that was said ...

Mike has instituted an offensive system that both suited his new QB but also was tailored towards the NFL not the college plays
I heard this week that the offensive scheme was not based on anything that had been tried before and was only possible because of RG3's athleticism and his mental capacity to learn and adapt

both Kyle and Haslett have done a better job with their players since the bye week also - the defense in particular has come up with some better efforts in the second part of the game

we are seeing a good job from the coaching staff and some great plays by the players
there is a lot of good momentum and great desire to play hard that is very evident

the Redskins need a GM and HC that have the authority and support of the owner like most other NFL franchises

gushogs wrote:What about Shannys words about time to evaluate the team for next year.... thin redline between genius and crazy?HaiL,

I've been thinking about that too. I'm not saying it was genius or even that those comments had any effect on the team. But look at what an uproar those comments caused from the know-nothings out there. I'd love to have a recording of dumb-a** Chad Dukes going off about that.

All Shanahan did that day was speak honestly. If the team wasn't going to go out and compete, then the playoffs were pretty much out of the question and he was going to be evaluating players to move forward. I don't know if that motivated the team or not, but the coach was clearly disgusted when he made those comments and his message to the players was plain. Good for him.

The "evaluation" news conference of five weeks ago was a mistake, plain and simple. Mike Shanahan is a fine coach with a fine track record who's doing a fine job with this year's Washington Redskins, but what he said in the wake of his team's upsetting Week 9 loss to Carolina about using the rest of the season to evaluate what he had for the future was an error. The Redskins are a blistering 4-0 since he said it, contenders now for the NFC East title as well as a wild-card spot, and if this past month has been about evaluation, then you have to think the evaluations are going very well. That misstep aside, though, Shanahan and his coaching staff are having a big year in Washington.

However, if you listen to Steve Young, Tom Jackson, Trent Dilfer and other ex-player analysts, they for the most part, know that what Shanny was saying was in line with your 1).

Edit: Actually, that article is a good read, especially for those calling for Haslett's head and wondering how good Kyle/Mike are at a calling a game.

I know he got a pretty good zip on the ball. He has a quick release. . . once I seen a coupla' throws, I was just like 'Yeah, he's that dude.'"

CanesSkins26 wrote:It was a great game and an awesome win, but I think that it's becoming clear that RG3 is going to have to change the way he plays or he won't last very long in this league. He's only played 13 games in the NFL and he's gotten knocked out of two of them. Even before the hit on the knee yesterday he took some big shots in the pockets holding onto the ball for too long. We have up a lot for RG3 and he is awesome, but nobody can withstand the types of hits that he's been taking this year.

This is exactly what I was truong to say in my post. He takes a lot of hits that he does not need to and the biggest reason for that is he still needs to get better at presnap reads and reading the play develop. He is too slow at reading plays and needs to improve at getting the ball out in rhythm and this leads to him taking hits and sacks that he shouldn't.

Now, again, I want to stress that is expected. He is a rookie that never had to read make the type of read progressions in college that he has to make now. He has had games were he took needless hits in the pocket and needless sacks, but yesterday it seemed like he was stumped by the Ratbirds D at times. Again, this is to be expected. Combine his inexperience with his desire (rightly so) to protect the ball and that leads him to hold the ball too long!

"Dovie'andi se tovya sagain"
(It is time to roll the dice) Tai'shar Manetheren

"Duty is heavier than a Mountain, Death is lighter than a feather" Tai'shar Malkier